Uncredited international transfer after cancellation

A client had made a transfer of CHF 5,400 to pay for legal services abroad on an urgent basis. The client contacted her bank after the expected amount had failed to arrive within the agreed time frame. The bank confirmed that the transfer order could be revoked as the money had not yet been credited to the recipient’s account. She also assured him that the amount would be newly credited to his account. Despite the bank’s promises, several months passed without the amount being returned to the client. Since she was unable to resolve her complaint with the bank despite various attempts, the complainant turned to the Swiss Banking Ombudsman. He then approached the bank to facilitate a dialogue between the two parties. Thanks to this mediation, both parties found a solution and the amount was refunded to the client.

The client made an international transfer for CHF 5,400 to a lawyer based in Asia. The money was to be used for remunerating the lawyer who had provided legal support during proceedings concerning the care and custody of her client’s child. The client contacted the bank concerned by this delay. The bank confirmed that it was still possible to cancel the transfer as the funds had not yet reached the destination bank and were not credited to the lawyer’s account. The client then asked her bank to cancel the transfer. The bank confirmed that it had cancelled the transaction and assured her that she would be credited with the corresponding amount on her account shortly. In the meantime, the client transferred an equivalent amount through another payment channel.

However, the amount was never credited to the client’s account. Despite her telephone and written reminders over a period of approximately two months, the client received no concrete response from her bank.

The client then turned to the Swiss Banking Ombudsman and expressed her dissatisfaction with this situation. She noted that one of the bank’s employees had assured her that telephone recordings confirmed the bank’s commitment to refunding the transferred funds. Despite this, however, none of her various contacts with the bank had led to a solution or refund of the transferred amount.

The Ombudsman recommended that the client submit her complaint to the bank’s management in writing. The client’s complaint was however unsuccessful. Informed by the client about this situation, the Swiss Banking Ombudsman approached the bank and asked it to respond to her complaint.

The bank then contacted the client and informed her that it was willing to make a gesture towards her. However, it made repayment conditional on proof that the client had transferred an equivalent amount to her lawyer’s account as well. This requirement caused the client to be outraged. She argued that repayment was the necessary consequence of revoking her initial instruction to transfer money. It also noted that during its various dealings with the bank it had never called into question her right to obtain reimbursement of the corresponding amount.  The Ombudsman then contacted the bank again and discussed the situation, thereby prompting the latter to find a rapid solution. The bank acknowledged that the requested evidence was unnecessary. The bank then contacted its client again and refunded her the full amount claimed. The case was thus able to be resolved to the client’s satisfaction.